b'Cowgirl With A PenWHY MY CHILDHOODWAS THE BESTBy Naomi LoomisPlease follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @thecirclelranchVisit our website at thecirclelranch.com and send any comments to Loomis489@yahoo.com. I would love hearing from you.Ineighbor lady was on the phone we couldnt make a call grew up as an adopted farm kid in the late 1970s and 1980s. As a tom-boy girl, there was nothing likeout. We actually spent time with friends and family without the 1980s. I mean there is just so much material forconstantly looking down at a screen while pretending to reminiscing; the awesome music, the fashion, the movies. listen to them.I was born in the bag phone era. Yes, I thought I was on top of the world with a bag phone when I was in high school. We had photo albums. Oh yes, and I still love them. You O man, the good ol days before Google and YouTube. know how great it is to flip through photos in books. By the way, I still make photo albums because I want my kids to be My parents job was dressing, feeding, sheltering, educatingable to look thru them long after I am gone.and loving us all. I am sure that they didnt put a heck of a lot of more thought into their parenting then that. TheyWe didnt have fear marketing. We ate what we wanted didnt read books to learn how to be a parent. They stressedand didnt have labels that would market fear for theirabout the crops in the ground and putting food on theirown agenda. There was no talk of GMOs, organics, We rode in the back of pickups. No I mean in the way table not about whethernatural, etc. We just ateback. We didnt have all these car seat rules so we sat in the allowing us all to cry it outwhat we wanted. Oh wait,back more than we sat in the front.would scar us for eternity.have I told you that I dislike My parents would say, Quitfear marketing. We earned our spot. I am talking about everything that your crying, dust yourselfwe did. Volleyball, basketball, FFA, rodeo We had to off and put a smile on yourWe knew where our foodwork our butts off in practice if we didnt want to sit on the face. I mean it was rough.came from. Yep, I grewbench. Our parents stayed out of it. It was pretty black and No, what I mean is that theyup on a farm/ranch. Wewhite. If you didnt work hard then that is exactly where it made me tough. Im nothad animals and crops.got you.ashamed of that at all. We all know that it takes hard working farmers andWe never locked our doors. Our school doors were not Yes, the late 1970s andranchers to provide foodlocked, we never locked our vehicles, and we never, ever 1980s were a goldminefor all of us. Dad wouldthought a second about it.of dreams andbutcher our beef and undoubtedly the bestall of us would packageWe may or may not have had a gun(s) in our vehicles. decade for a child toit together. It was like aEVERYDAY!! End of story. Except we knew how togrow up inEVER.science lab over and over. use them.We roamed. Yes, justWe had quite the trends going on. I mean, the hairstylesWe had to be punctual. If we wanted to meet up on thelike a herd of cattle weand the clothes. Let me tell you, we were hot.hill at 6 pm, then that is just what we did. We couldnt call ran around; most ofand change it.the time with no shoesWe are the Xennials and proud of it. What are Xennials? We on. We played in theare the generation born between 1982 and 2004. MillennialsSo until America figures a few things out, I am going to trees and in the dumpare aged between 13 and 35. The generation before Gen X,continue teaching our ranch kids to be gentlemen/ladies,yards. We rode ourspanned another 20 years, beginning in 1961 and endingto help those that need help, to say kind words and behorses to grandmasin 1981. Enter Xennials, the term being used to describegood examples. and to our friendspeople born between 1977 and 1983. Like the pessimistic houses. We were wild. We were explorers. Gen Xers before us, my microgeneration is not as tech savvyUntil America figures out a few more things, I am going We would be gone for hours without mom or as the millennials who are considered digital natives. Weto teach our kids to say yes sir and yes maam, to hold dad knowing where we were. had to learn to consume media and came of age before theredoors for strangers, and always wear a smile. Why? Because was Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat. We still watched theI believe that love and smiles can change those that we see We had books. You read that right. We read a lot of evening news or read the newspaper. and have the opportunity to cross paths with. Because I books. On that note, the tween literature was awesome. dont want our kids to ever The Babysitters Club, Sweet Valley Twins, the American We couldnt havelose the feeling of love. Girl series, prior to becoming befouled by consumerism everything that we and smart phones. wanted. Not everythingHow about lets teach a little was obtainable. We didntmore patience and a little We had no handheld electronic devices. I actually cannothave Amazon or Ebay, more western hospitality believe how fast the electronic devices have taken over ourso if it was sold out at to those who maybe dont world. Kids these days are growing up with their hands onthe local Kmart, then deserve it because hate and a device and their minds running over. Back in my day, weit was out. rudeness seem to be winning. had to memorize the phone numbers of our friends andUntil America figures this out, neighbors, we played with them and we chatted face-to- We were disciplined. I am going to teach our kids to face. The closest thing to electronic was the big computersYes, I got a lot ofask God for guidance as they at the school that we thought were so cool because we couldspankings and so didcontinue on this path of life play the Oregon Trail game on them. In high school, itmy siblings. We all lived.and I am going to ask God for was so cool to have a CD player with ear phones. I mean,It didnt scar us. Thosestrength and guidance to help I jammed out to Chris LeDoux and Garth Brooks everyspankings that I gotme teach my kids all about day. Remember that? I am thankful for all those years. Imade me a better love and kindness. grew up with a party line and that meant that when theperson today. 14 October 2022'